Empowering women in Africa
(Kigoma)

The need to reverse the situation of inequality and exclusion faced by women in Africa, and more specifically adolescent girls and young women at risk of vulnerability, and in the context of Tanzania (and particularly in Kigoma region), led a group of women to found, in 2017 in Kigoma, the local NGO DUHAMABI (Dumisha Haki ya Mama na Binti, which in English means Maintaining the right of women and daughters), in order to achieve gender equality and comprehensive employment opportunities, and thus contribute to the cross-cutting development process of these girls at risk of social exclusion, as prescribed by the Sustainable Development Goals.

In this way, DUHAMABI began its activities with a project of sewing/tailoring course for vulnerable adolescent girls and young women with the challenge of facilitating the creation of new jobs that would provide them with income generation.
In recent years, DUHAMABI initiated to have lack of funds, which caused to continue its activities in poor conditions:
- the course venue was located in an access corridor to warehouses and shops
- a dark, noisy and narrow corridor
- the seating capacity was very limited, and there was no possibility of refurbishing or extending the venue
- no running water and no toilets
- no proper educational environment or comfort
- with little material, equipment, machines and furniture.
Therefore, in order to provide a solution to this precarious situation and given the importance of reversing the inequality and exclusion faced by these women; DUHAMABI asked the international NGO KARIBIA to collaborate in the implementation of the project "Improving economic independence and personal autonomy of young women through training in sewing techniques in Kigoma, Tanzania" which aims to ensure the empowerment of adolescent girls and young women at risk of social exclusion in the municipalities of Katubuka, Buhanda and Businde in Kigoma-Ujiji Municipal Council, through training in sewing techniques, tailoring and income-generating activities to promote economic independence, personal autonomy and the development of all of them.

Since the beginning of the project, every year, at the end of the course, the best students are awarded a scholarship (Kipepeo Scholarships), with a sewing machine so that they can start on their way to professional and personal empowerment.